Harry Reid ups the ante

I take back every mean thing I said about Harry Reid being a spineless, ineffective, hapless little sad sack. Well okay, maybe I don't take it back, because it was true then but I'm just wild about the new Harry Reid -- steely eyed warrior -- now. Every GOPer in America, from the big time power brokers to the angriest, meanest foot soldier in the base has been hurling every ugly smear they got at him and he hasn't flinched. In fact, Reid keeps raising the stakes:

"This person is an investor in Bain Capital, a Republican also, and somebody who has been dealing with Romney’s company for a long, long time and he has direct knowledge of this,” said Reid aide Jose Parra, referring to Romney’s tax returns.

Parra has since walked that a little back:

"I do not know the party affiliation of the source, how long he invested with Bain, or his relationship to Romney beyond the fact that he was an investor with Bain Capital, as Senator Reid has previously stated."

But no matter. There is every reason to believe Harry has a credible source for the allegation. I'm proud of him for standing firm and keeping it in the news cycle. It's a question the voters want answered and Harry is fighting not just the Republicans, but a complacent, cynical media to demand that answer on our behalf. Which is how the system used to work though most of the cool kids on the DC beat aren't old enough to remember it.

And perhaps our concern trolls could ask why Romney won't release information the voters have a right to know instead of hurling themselves onto the fainting couch because Harry is so "rudely" pressing the question. Clearly there's something big in those returns Romney wants to hide or else he would have shut this down by releasing them.

[More posts daily at the Detroit News.]